Once Upon A Twilight was The Twilights' second and final album, released in 1968. It went largely unnoticed at the time, and was a dramatic change from their previous pop oriented first album and their big hit "Needle In A Haystack".
While showcasing Peter Brideoake's plaintive, cello and horn-embellished "Tomorrow Is Today" and Laurie Pryor's raucously daft comedy turn, "The Cocky Song", the album is essentially Terry Britten's own. As main songwriter he provided lush settings for Glenn (the title track, "Found To Be Thrown Away" and the psychedelic gem "Paternoster Row") and delicate arrangements for Paddy's sweet lilt ("Bessemae"). Terry also made his own mark with lead vocals and almost solo instrumentation on "Mr Nice" and the Eastern-flavoured "Devendra" -- the latter featuring an arrangement of Indian string and percussive sounds similar to George Harrison's "Within You Without You". Embellished by brass, strings, Clapton-esque wah-wah guitar, Keith Moon-ish drum patterns and the latest studio trickery --feedback, reverse-tape effects masking, stereo panning and Leslie'd vocal effects -- the album presented a suite of spirited and captivating psychedelic pop-rock songs that hinted at brilliance.
At the time of its release the album was regarded by some critics as music past its use-by-date! Well, at the time, sure, the considerable time-lapse between the album's conception and its eventual release maybe didn't do the band many favours, but 36 years later this album sounds as fresh and fine and seminal as something like The Small Faces' Ogden's Nut Gone Flake -- an album The Twilights were known to perform in its entirety in concert.
many thanks, friend
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